By MIKE SALINERO | The Tampa Tribune
Published: October 19, 2011

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TAMPA —

A proposal to restructure the current makeup of the Hillsborough County Commission won enough support from commissioners today to go forward for further debate.

Commissioners voted 7-0 to hold a workshop later this year on changing the current board makeup of four single-member districts and three countywide seats, by adding another single-member district and reducing the countywide seats to two.

Commissioner Les Miller, the board’s only black member, proposed the change, saying it would bring government closer to the people.

The current system was set up in 1983 and was partly a reaction to a scandal that saw three commissioners jailed for taking kickbacks.

But Miller said the county’s explosive growth since that time — from 650,000 residents counted in the 1980 census to more than 1.2 million people now — has made the single-member districts unwieldy. The four current commission districts average 307,000 people. Adding a district would reduce the average population to 247,000 people.

“We need to have smaller single member districts so people can get closer to their commissioners,” Miller said.

Adding a district would also make it more likely that one district would tilt toward a Hispanic representative, Miller said. A coalition of Hispanic groups pressed the commissioner earlier this year to increase the Hispanic population in District 1, represented by Sandy Murman, to 36 percent. Commissioners rejected the idea.

Miller was supported by two board members who served with him in the Florida Legislature: Murman and Victor Crist. Murman noted that all 40 state senators and 120 House members serve geographic districts. She said she found the commission structure, with countywide seats, “odd.”

Crist said reducing the geographic size and population of commission districts would reduce the amount of money candidates would have to raise to run a campaign.

“I just appreciate smaller government because it gives greater access to your elected officials,” Crist said, “and frankly a process where it’s easier for the everyday person to run for office and get elected.”

Other commissioners expressed concerns. Kevin Beckner, the only other Democrat on the board besides Miller, said he appreciated the current structure because it allows voters to cast ballots for a majority of the board: the voter’s district representative and three countywide commissioners.

“By changing to that system, we’re looking at diluting the voice of the majority and the representation of the majority,” Beckner said.

Commissioner Mark Sharpe said a board dominated by district representatives could lead to a “Balkanization” of policy, with commissioners fighting so hard for their districts that they ignore the welfare of the county as a whole.

Commissioner Ken Hagan, who also expressed concerns, said he would second a motion to hold a workshop to discuss the matter further.

Restructuring the commission would require a referendum to amend the county charter. Managing County Attorney Mary Helen Farris said an ordinance calling for a referendum during the November 2012 election would have to be ready by May or June of next year.

By TBO.com
Published: August 24, 2011
Updated: August 24, 2011 – 5:08 PM

 

Tampa — Hillsborough County’s after-school program may get a reprieve.

Commissioners agreed unanimously this afternoon to have county officials draw up a plan that would add 19 parks that would provide recreational programs after school – more than the 11 regional centers commissioners had approved for their 2012 budget after agreeing to discontinue full-time staffing at 31 recreation centers.

County officials will come back to the commission on Sept. 8 with standards to determine the success of the program – including having a minimum of 25 children per site — and how they will communicate to parents that the program, which they were told was being discontinued, is back on.

Under the plan, commissioners would receive a 6-month report on how the program is performing and would re-evaluate the program after the end of the school year, in time to inform parents so they can make plans before the start of the next school year.

The maximum cost for attending the program would be reduced from $48 to $38 with a $20 fee for children who meet income guidelines for free or reduced cost school lunches. Commissioner Ken Hagan, who proposed continuing the after-school program at 30 recreation centers, said lowering the fee will attract more participants.

County administrators and parks director Mark Thornton have argued the current program is too expensive at $7.5 million, and declining enrollment has exacerbated the problem. Participation has shrunk to about 1,900 kids from 5,600 enrollees in 2008. The slide started after commissioners approved a sliding fee scale for what had been a free program.

Hagan argued that if the county can increase numbers, the program will be self-sufficient.

But commissioners Kevin Beckner, Sandy Murman and chairman Al Higginbotham wanted some benchmarks to determine whether the plug should be pulled on the program.